7 Quick Takes - Joseph is 3 Months!!

Happy Friday, Sweet People!!

I really believe that you guys really are the kindest readers on the planet.  When I find comments such as "You have the sweetest boys!" and "Your boys are so handsome and so good!" in the comments, I must say it truly warms my heart.

{Chess and quesadillas over lunch is how I sneak into the pantry and shove chocolate chips in my mouth while they're distracted.}

But, I have to be honest with you: Don't think for a second that it's all Mary Poppinsville around here. I'm pretty sure that if you could be a little ol' fly on the wall for just one minute in our house, you would see that woven in between the lines of all the positive posts I write about the boys are an equal amount of stories that could be composed on the chaos and dysfunction of every day life.

That being said, I'm sure that as mothers, our hearts are much the same in that we may have the worst day ever with our children, fall into bed at night feeling a bit beat up, and still our are hearts are able to look past the struggles of the day and reflect more on the goodness and beauty in our little people. Yes?

Steve and I can hardly believe that our sweet Joseph is already 3 months! (Well, 3.5 to be exact.) We love to stay up at night and talk about him together. Actually, he's probably developing a serious ego from hearing us chatter on and on about him, since he's not willing to go to bed early with the rest of the gang.

Having a newborn brings a quite the roller coaster of highs and lows.  These past three months haven't lacked once ounce of intensity.  I must confess to feeling pretty overwhelmed at least seventy-two times a day.  One minute, my heart is bursting with love and affection for our babes and the next minute I'm trying to come up with subtle ways to discuss the topic of perpetual abstinence or how to squeeze a three week hiatus from this gig into the budget with their daddy.

Let me share with you a brief testimony of the precious experiences I have on a minute-to-minute basis here in our testosterone flooded home.   A sampler from Thursday:

As I was trying desperately yesterday morning to get Joseph, who is teething and prefers NOT to call it a day until 12:30 or 1:00 a.m, to go back to sleep at 7:00 a.m., I hear a boisterous:

You got mud on yo' face
You big disgrace
Kickin' your can all over the place
Singin'
We will we will rock you!
We will we will rock you!

 Queen was booming from the kitchen.  After begging my husband to shut down the jam session, (Boys, your mom is trying to get Joey to sleep, so take it down a notch), there is a pause of silence. Ahhh.  Then, just seconds later a melodious version of John Denver's, "Sunshine, on my shoulders, makes me happy..." comes rolling through the house at 800 decibels. But, you know, they were "singing him to sleep."

Later that afternoon....
Charlie was laying down beside Joseph with his pointy finger hovering over Joey's crossed eyes.  I get a little closer to see exactly what he's doing when I realize he's showing him his booger.  "Hey Jofis, see my booger? See it? See it?? It's a reawy big one, Jofis.

Oh, the life, the life!!

Well, between Queen, John Denver and the "show and tell" booger sessions, I must say that I feel quite relieved that our sweet Joseph has survived 3 months with 5 big brothers and one frazzled mama. Since the past few months are a bit of a blur in my memory, I feel a need to write just a few things that I don't ever want to forget about Joseph at this stage of his infancy, as he is growing much too fast.

He has the sweetest disposition.  I wish I could put into words just how expressive those bright blue eyes are.  He loves to be spoken to in the many charming and affectionate voices of his family, and always "talks back" to us with the most precious babbling you've ever heard.  He also loves to be tickled right under the chin, and most of all, he just loves to be held by me.

{I snapped this pic with my phone during one of our early 4 a.m. parties. I love his toes!}

{No matter where I'm at in a room, Joseph has to find me. I took this pic last night as Steve was holding him while watching the Royals battle it out with the Angels.}

This stage of the game is personally, for me, where having a baby gets really fun.  Mostly because I'm starting to feel like I have a pulse again, but also because Joey is easing into a schedule, and is becoming easier for the boys to entertain, so that I can do things like brush my teeth or shave both legs.

Steve and I take so much delight in hearing the boys talk to Joseph, their little conversations are truly endearing.  They also like to ask a lot of questions like, "Did I do that when I was a baby?" Were my legs ever that chubby? Did you really kiss me that much? Can I feed Joey some my chips? (Yeah, that be Charlie).

The 7 Quick Takes of this post was supposed to be seven pics of Joseph, but I only had time for six, because you know, there's a boxing match going on in the living room and I have to find my whistle.

Have a great weekend, everyone!!

XO